What Was Said . ᐸ3ᓇᓯᒪᐅᑎᒃ TASIUJAQ PARNASIMAUTIK April 15 to 16, 2013

Parnasimautik community workshops are being organized to identify a comprehensive vision of regional development according to Inuit culture, identity, language and traditional way of life so as to protect them now and enhance them for the future, and to protect the environment. The goal of these community workshops is to continue with all Nunavimmiut the discussion on development begun by regional organizations in 2010.

The hunter support program is very useful but the Who We Are funding runs out too quickly. It helps hunters buy the (Culture and Identity • Harvesting • Lands • gasoline they need to get to their harvesting areas. Environmental and Regional Planning) Could those that were most affected by the dog The Inuit customary way of dealing with problems is slaughter be offered funding assistance to purchase disappearing. Why is this happening? We used to hunting equipment and gasoline? be capable of solving our own problems. What has changed? Inuit can take this back and regain their Our Communities identity. (Elders, Women and Youth • Education • Health • Our way of life is unique. At the same time, more Housing • Justice and Social Regulation • Com- and more people are depending on employment. munity development • Biofood • Employment) Young people must make the effort to speak a Most students drop-out of school. We need to correct Inuktitut, to do their part to protect our encourage young people to stay in school, to pursue identity. their education, to get those jobs that require more Category II lands should be converted into qualifications. We need to be more determined to Category I lands. take the jobs that are available. We have always depended on wildlife to survive but We need to provide training on Inuit ways. Some it is becoming costly to practise subsistence young people do not want to go south for an activities. Considering the caribou population crash, education because of cultural differences. can we learn to herd caribou as the Sami do with Going to school in the south does not necessarily reindeer? mean moving away from our culture. I envy the There should be research done on the meat that we people of Greenland, working as professionals like eat before industrial development takes place so we doctors and engineers, and using their language. can see later what the impacts of development We must be able to do this in Nunavik too. really are. This research should make use of Non-Inuit who work with our youth are not able to traditional knowledge and be done by outside take into account our way of life. It is for us as Inuit experts, not those who work for the mining to work at solutions for our youth. companies. Should this research be carried out More funding is needed for elders. We also need to even before we sign any impacts and benefits get them out on the land more often. agreements? Those sent away to jail have needs that are not being met. They are not getting help. Ungaluk Program funding should be used to help those in jail: to access country food and to stay in contact with their families. A detention facility in Nunavik is needed because we are not able to visit our relatives in prison in the south. We also need better resources for the families of detainees and rehabilitation for detainees, like Makitautik in Kangirsuk. After we pay our rent and groceries we have no more money left, and Nutrition North Canada is

pushing us further into poverty.

Parnasimautik – Tasiujaq – What Was Said Page 2

We have to consider all the health issues associated with mining around our communities and make sure health care infrastructure is adequate for an increased number of users. Our communities need mental health workers. Some children are not properly taken care of. If children have to be taken out of the community by youth protection, it has to be done properly. There is a shortage of housing and the houses being constructed are too small. With children and grandchildren, the rent we have to pay is too high; we are struggling financially. There was once a farm in Kuujjuaq with chickens, lambs and pigs. Could we do that here? And a community boat is needed to fish mussels. Our Vision of Development Our Region We have to find ways to communicate more often and better with each other. We need to find ways to (Tourism • Mining • Energy • Transportation • transfer this information to the community. Telecommunications) Community members should meet more often as it We have to be alert about mining. Even if we try to was in the past. say no, it will happen. Therefore, we must sign We have grown up with the JBNQA, but never were agreements to protect the environment and our we taught about it. Yet, it was negotiated by our harvesting areas. elders, our grandparents. This lack of knowledge is We should be concerned about those ships that will hindering regional development. be transporting mineral ore. Their ballast will be We have been living with the JBNQA since 1975, dumped in coastal waters and contaminate wildlife. and have faced many challenges since then. We Mining site clean-up is important to prevent the now need to discuss and improve on the contents of leaching of contamination into our river systems. We that document. I appreciate that Inuit are sitting need to make sure these sites are cleaned up. down to discuss our future. Your involvement makes We would benefit more from the construction of a me proud. We can use the JBNQA to attain Inuit railroad than from a road. A railroad would give us empowerment. When we were negotiating the better control over what would come to the JBNQA, we felt quite capable. We met a lot with the communities from the south. communities and came up with ideas, but we left some issues for the future. Although we have often Tourism development, including the creation of a been criticized and asked why we signed the park, needs to happen faster, before mining starts. agreement, the JBNQA has improved our lives. Even though Hydro-Québec may one day want to What you are producing through Parnasimautik is dam the Kuugaaluk river to generate electricity for easy to understand and a very good start. I hope mining, we do not want this. The Kuugaaluk is very you will go back to the government with important for our harvesting. Parnasimautik. (Tommy Cain Sr., Tasiujaq elder and signatory of the JBNQA)

Representatives of all local organizations were present at the Parnasimautik workshop in Tasiujaq: from the municipal council; the landholding corporation; Anguvigaapik; the cooperative; the education, community wellness and housing committees; the church, recreation and Piqalujait cultural committees; plus youth, elders, the KRG councillor, the KSB commissioner, the NRBHSS member, and the Makivik board member.